Apparatus for treating forage.



No. 858,302. PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907.

T. H. MAPP. APPARATUS FOR TREATING FORAGB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6. 1906.

4 BHBETFBEEBT 1.

No. 858,302. PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907. i

T. H. MAPP. I APPARATUS FOR TREATINGfFORAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V fiuz N0- 858,302. PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907- T. H. MAPP. APPARATUS FOR TREATING FORAGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1906-" 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- m 2 B 3 B IMIV'Q v 9 /5 m w w A m w d W THOMAS HENRY MAPP,

PATENT OFFICE.

or SURRY HILLS, NEAR SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA.

APPARATUS Fon TREATING FORAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented June 25, 1907.

Application filed August 6,1906.- Serial No. 829,464-

.lo all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS HENRY M PP, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 382 Bourke street, Surry Hills, near Sydney, in the State of New South Wales, Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treat- .ing Forage, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improved apparatus for treating foragesuch as lucerne, grass, clover, oats, wheat, maize and the like mateigiall before being compressed into blocks or a es. 1

According to my invention the forage is taken either in a green 'or dry condition and delivered into a chamber in'which travels one or more horizontal or inclined endless apron carriers or 'conveyers preferably of sheet metal driven by sprocket wheels, and the forage when delivered into the hopper or feed opening falls on the conveyer or upon the uppermost one when more than one are employed. The material is carried along the brush in contact therewith to insure that all thematerial is discharged into thechute or onto the next lowermost conveyer.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a view in pers ective of the exterior of the apparatus.

ig 2 is a sectional plan on the plane 22 of ig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the apparatus with one side of the casing or housing removed. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional elevation on the line 44 Fig. 3 portion being broken away, and, Figs. ,5, 6, and 7, areenlarged detail views illustrating portions of a conveyer and its aprons.

The same numerals refer to the same or corresponding parts.

The casing or housing consists of sides 8,

ends 9, top 10 and bottom 11 and is entirely surrounded by lagging or suitable non-conducting material 12 bound by bands 13. To

the bottom 11 are attached legs 14, and a chute 15 communicating with the interior. 'Feed openings-16, 17, and 18, are provided in the top 10 each having slidi covers 19, the larger openin 1 6'be1ng for eeding long stalked for'a -e an those numbered 17 and 18 for grain an the like or short or chopped forage. Within the casing are a series of car-- riers or traveling conveyors one above the other consisting of two endless roller chains 20 passing over sprocket wheels 21 'said chains having lu s 22 on the inside of the inner links to whic lugs are bolted the aprons 23. The said aprons have flanges 24 provided with extensions 25 so that the extensions of one a ron will fit inside the flanges 24 of the adjoining a ron. .The parthas semicircular laps 26 so t at a lap of one apron will lie over and above the ad OiEing lap of the next one. laps is to prevent a gap being left between the aprons when they are passin round the splrocket wheels 21. The sproc et wheels of t e carriers have spindles 27 rotating in bear- The object of said extensions and with an endless chain 30. 31 is a chain.

tightener and 32 a driving pulley attached to one of the said spindles.

It will be seen that each carrier travels in an opposite direction to the one immediately below it. and prevent sag ing I provide an le iron ledges 33 secure to the sides '8. eneath the discharge end of each carrier is a brush 34 to clean the a rons and rotating oppositely thereto, sai brushes at one end belng driven by the sprockets 35 on the spindles 36 gearing with the endless chain 30. The brushes on the opposite end have their sprockets 35 earing with endless chains 37 gassing over t e sprockets 38' on spindles 27.

etween and extending nearly the whole length of each carrier is a set of steam or hot air pipes 39, the set between each carrier being connected by external pipes 40. 41 is the inlet thereto and 42 the outlet. Within and secured to the ends 9 of the casing are shields 43 and in the spaces between the ends In order to insure easier motion roo 9 and said shields are sets of heating pipes 44 each set being connected by external pipes 45. 46 represents the inlet and 47 the outlet pipes.

In carrying m invention into operation steam or hot air is let into the heating pipes 39 and 44 and motion 'ven to the pulley 32. The forage is then eliveredthrough the ening 16, 17, or 18, or all of them if a combmation of materials is being used, and is deposited on the uppermost traveling carrier and having reac ed the end thereof is delivered onto the aprons of the next lower carrier which is moving in an op osite direction and so on until it reaches t e chute from whence it is discharged into a suitable press to be com ressed.

It will be evi cut that I may use a more or less number of traveling carriers without departing from the invention, and they need not necessarily be horizontal; The position of the discharge chute will depend on the number of carriers employed.

Having now'described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is a 1. In an a paratus of the class described, a casing, a plhrality of substantially parallel oppositely movable endless conveyers in said casing, heating pipes disposed between the upper and lower runsof the respective conveyers, shields within and secured at opposite sides of the casing to form heatmg spaces, heating pi es arranged within the s aces formed by tlie sides of the casing and s iields, and cleaning brushes engagin r the lower run of the conveyers substantia y at the delivery ends of the latter.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing surrounded by suitable non-conducting material, a plurality of substantially paralle horizontally dis osed endless conveyers, sprocket gearing or driving said conveyers oppositely to each other, each conveyer serving to deliver material on to the next lower conveyer, shields within and secured to the op osite side walls of the casing and adapted to orm heating chambers, heating pipes arranged Within each of the spaces, said casing having a feed opening to supply material to the top conveyer and also having a discharge opening for the passage of material from the lowermost conveyer, heating pipes dis osed between the upper and lower runs of t e respective conveyers, and cleaning brushes in contact with the res ective conveyers and rotatable oppositely t ereto.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS HENRY MAPP. Witnesses:

HENRY WATCHORNE CLARKE, MABEL EUGENIE DE LANGE. 

